U-19 World Cup final: Five players to watch out for

India and England face off in the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup final on Saturday.

Five-time champions India performed well in the final despite multiple players contracting the novel coronavirus during the league stage. Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Raj Bawa and Yash Dhull were the main scorers of the tournament, all of them over 200 points. Captain Dhull scored a ton in the semi-final against Australia and he hopes to score another in the final. Spinner Vicky Ostwal was the team’s top wicketkeeper by far with 12 wickets, but fast bowlers Rajvardhan Hangargekar and Ravi Kumar were also effective.

Preview – U-19 CWC final: India braces for England in final column

England will bid to win their first U-19 World Cup title since 1998. Fast bowler Joshua Boyden and spinner Rehan Ahmed have been the main wickets with 25 wickets between them. With the bat, Tom Perst was prolific, scoring 292 times, including a century and a half, with over 100 hits.

Here are five players to watch out for in the final:

1. Ashdur: The India captain has only played three matches in the U-19 World Cup so far as he falls for days amid COVID-19. He came into the Championship after centuries and a half of warm-ups, and he continues to shine. His 82 against South Africa helped India win the first match by 45 points. After a 14-day break, he played his second game, scoring an unbeaten 20-goal tie against Bangladesh at Coolidge.

He reserved his best performance in the semi-final against Australia, scoring 110 to give India an all-out victory.

2. Sheik Rashid: The India vice-captain also kept his best performance in the semi-final against Australia, scoring 94 in 204 overs with Dhull. This inning alone makes him a player to watch in the final – his form and confidence, and he’s eager to get into triple figures in the days after the near-miss.

3. Vicky Ostwal: Ostwal has been India’s No. 1 spinner at the U-19 World Cup, picking five wickets in the first match against South Africa. Also making him a threat is his economy rate — 3.39. With 12 wickets, he is at the top of India’s wicket charts.

4. Rayhan Ahmed: England left-arm spinner Rehan Ahmed has the same number of wickets as Ostwald despite playing two games less. Ahmed, who has four wickets in every game he has played, turned things around for England by taking three wickets in his penultimate game against Afghanistan in the semi-finals.

5. Tom Post: The England captain plundered the bowling attack of the United Arab Emirates and Canada, England scored 93 and 154 points respectively in the first two games without being out. He didn’t score as much in the next two games, but he’s hoping to make a difference in the all-important final.